Sex crimes on Seoul subways jump 20 pct in 2013

Published : 2014-03-25 10:28
Updated : 2014-03-25 10:28

The number of sex crimes on subways in Seoul jumped more than 20 percent in 2013 from a year earlier, government data showed Tuesday.

According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the number of sexual offenses committed on subway trains and in stations in the capital came to 1,026 last year, up 20.1 percent from a year earlier.

The number of people arrested on suspicion of committing related crimes on the subway system also soared 19 percent last year from the previous year.

The data also showed that nearly 30 percent of groping cases and other sex crimes occurred during the morning rush hours, which are between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

The ministry said that it will launch an anti-sexual harassment campaign at 15 stations across the city on Wednesday, in cooperation with the SMPA and Seoul Metro, a public corporation that runs Seoul subway lines No. 1 through 4. (Yonhap)